Londonist Presents: Slow Exposure

We are delighted to announce the launch of the first ever Londonist Photography Competition in association with Slow Down London.

The last year or so has seen some incredible, original talent emerge in our Flickrpool and Londonist is chuffed every day to be able to use your photography to illustrate our posts. Slow Exposure is, in part, a big thank you to everyone who contributes to the pool and, we hope, a great opportunity for you to get your work seen and talent recognised further afield.

So, what's it all about? Quite simply, you are challenged to enter the competition by submitting up to 3 photographs that encapsulate Londonist's upbeat, eclectic, quirky take on our capital and are inspired by the ethos of Slow Down London.

An open competition will be run through a competition Flickrpool. A panel of judges will then select the group of striking shots they think best sum up Londonist and Slow Down London. The winners will be invited to exhibit their photograph in an exhibition as part of the Slow Down London festival at Ray's Jazz Cafe, Foyles Charing Cross from 24 April - 24 May. That's a whole month on display in central London, in an awesome venue that sees daily passing trade and puts on evening gigs and all sorts. We're very grateful to Slow Down London and Foyles for helping make this happen.

We've kept the process as simple as possible. To enter, just add your 3 photos to the Slow Exposure Flickrpool by midnight, Sunday 22 March. Winners will be notified by Sunday 29 March. Please note, winners will be expected to print and frame their own shots professionally. Entrance to the competition is free, however, thanks to the generosity of Foyles in letting us use their exhibition space.

Full details on how to enter, the rules and what to expect after the jump. Please read carefully.

THE RULES

1. Join the Slow Exposure Flickrpool, where you'll submit your work. Your submissions are limited to three photos. The pool will close for entries at midnight on Sunday March 22, 2008. Make sure you caption your images and if you don't check your Flickrmail regularly, please make sure there's an email address where we can contact you attached to the image or your profile.

2. Remember that this is Londonist. Your photos must be taken in Greater London and we'll be looking for shots of the fun and odd sides of life in the Big Smoke. Your inspiration is Slow Down London, however you choose to interpret this.

Oh, and on this point, Londonist contributors who are Flickrpool members are allowed to enter - judges will be announced in due course and will be totally impartial.

3. If your photo is chosen for the show, we'll require standarisation from everyone. You will have to get it printed as an 8x10 (or a similar size if it's irregular — 10x10, etc.) and matted and framed according to our set standards:

— Black metal moulding 16x20 frame with regular glass

— White acid free mat

— White acid free foam core backing

We know some of you have never had your work professionally framed before, but we want your work to look its best, so no homemade jobs unless you've got some experience doing this. Framers can charge a significant amount and take quite a bit of time to frame your work, but we're working with a few frame shops to get the winners significant discounts. We'll give you more details about where to go for framing after you've been selected.

4. We know that some of you have never sold your work before - this might be an opportunity for you. Our hope is that the Londonist community can assist each other with this process when it comes to pricing and other issues, both here and on the Flickr discussion board. We're always here to answer questions or give advice, as well, so feel free to email us.

5. We will contact the selected photographers no later than Sunday, 29 March 2009 by email. Some photographers may have more than one image selected. If you haven't responded to us by Wednesday, 1 April, we will select another image. Time is tight! If you know you'll be out of town that week, just let us know beforehand.

6. You'll have just over three weeks to mat and frame your photograph. During the week commencing 20 April, you'll deliver your photograph for hanging in the show.

7.The show will open on Friday 24 April to coincide with the launch of Slow Down London and will run right through until 24 May, 2009. Folks can drop in anytime Foyles is open, so you'll have a whole month to encourage everyone you know to come check it out. We're also planning a private view and winners party so watch this space for more info.